Boom—!!
As the ceiling collapsed under Chidori, smoke rolled skyward.
A figure burst from the haze—Itachi. He shot out, instantly forming seals.
Roar—!!
Scorching flames poured from his mouth, forcing the smoke back.
Itachi landed, Mangekyo Sharingan scanning the distance, face unreadable.
When the smoke cleared and the flames died, Sasuke appeared—now in his Cursed Seal state, a great fleshy wing shielding him.
Itachi's fire had struck, but the seal's power had protected him.
Sasuke's face stayed calm. That level of damage? Still far from enough.
Not far away, the two Zetsu re-emerged.
White Zetsu groaned. "Ugh, almost got caught in that."
They'd watched from the ceiling until the brothers suddenly aimed upward.
Another second and their cover would've been blown.
Now Itachi and Sasuke locked eyes, hands flashing through seals.
They released their jutsu in perfect sync.
Fire Release: Great Fireball!
Fire Release: Great Fireball!
Two spheres of flame collided, heat surging as they ground against each other.
White Zetsu winced; as a "plant-man" he hated high temperatures.
BOOM!!!!!
A small shift came in the stalemate.
"Sasuke's pushing him back," White Zetsu cried, excited. "This fight really is—"
Even as he spoke, Sasuke's fireball pressed Itachi's toward the ground.
Instead of dodging, Itachi's right eye slowly opened, blood trailing down his cheek.
Amaterasu—!!!
The thought rang in his mind.
His right eye snapped wide; an invisible pulse burst forth.
Within the orange flames a speck of black appeared, spreading like wildfire to devour the blaze.
!!!!
Shock crossed Sasuke's face—he'd never seen a Fire Release like this.
"Oh!" White Zetsu gasped. "It's here!"
From his view, jet-black Amaterasu flames surged to swallow Sasuke's fire as though it were their natural prey.
The black fire raced forward, about to engulf Sasuke.
In that instant fear gripped him: touch those flames and he was dead—instinct screamed it.
Yet just before impact, Itachi shut his right eye and forcibly cancelled Amaterasu.
...
Sasuke froze for a heartbeat.
Naruto World, Akatsuki hideout.
"I swear, are you his babysitter, Itachi?" Deidara sneered right at him.
On-screen, Sasuke, facing Itachi, would never notice that tiny mercy.
The Akatsuki members watching the video could clearly see that Itachi still had enough strength to keep Amaterasu going.
Yet, as if terrified of burning his little brother to death, he forcibly extinguished the flames.
Canceling a jutsu outright always carries a steep backlash.
Sasori watched Itachi with a calm expression, momentarily lost for words; by now everyone could see that the leniency was blatant.
An instant ago you could have beaten—even killed—your brother, but you held back.
It left the rest of them speechless.
...
Itachi said nothing; whatever he uttered now would be pointless—the facts were plain.
"Understandable," Kisame spoke up, glancing at Deidara and Sasori. "Amaterasu burns everything. If those flames scorched Sasuke's eyes..."
"Oh? When you put it that way, it makes sense."
White Zetsu chimed in, as if suddenly enlightened: "After all, Amaterasu's black fire never goes out; it consumes everything. If it damaged Sasuke's Sharingan, Itachi's whole plan would go up in smoke."
"Leaving Uchiha Madara aside, Sasuke is basically the last Uchiha now."
The explanations from White Zetsu and Kisame made the situation slightly easier for everyone to accept.
"Tch, I bet Itachi deliberately showed all those openings just to clear a path for his little brother," Deidara muttered, clicking his tongue.
To him, Itachi was simply a hopeless sis-con—except for brothers.
All that tough talk, yet when the fight started he pulled every punch.
As for why he'd looked serious earlier—simple: if he hadn't, he might've accidentally killed his brother.
One-Punch Man World
"As expected."
Tatsumaki smiled when she saw Itachi hold back; she'd known it all along.
"Hm? Expected what?" Saitama stared, clueless about what could make her grin.
Genos also turned toward Tatsumaki; he'd been absorbed in the brothers' battle.
He wondered who would prevail, but the S-Class Rank 2 hero seemed to be watching from a different angle.
Curious, Genos waited to hear what she'd noticed.
"That man named Itachi loves his little brother; otherwise he'd have seized the chance to kill him just now," Tatsumaki declared with certainty.
Earlier, inside the Tsukuyomi world, Itachi had ripped out Sasuke's eyeballs, leading her to think him a cruel older sibling.
But the moment the genjutsu ended and he quenched the Amaterasu, she knew.
He was just like her—harsh on the surface toward a younger sibling yet ready to rush in the instant real trouble appeared.
Whatever danger arose, she would be there first to handle it.
She also sensed that Itachi must have a reason for pushing Sasuke so hard.
She'd find out what it was once the fight concluded—after all, this was a reversal video!